Journey of truth
by Mitsu Karaga
Summary: Sakura takes the risk of abandoning her village to bring back the one person who would give her team peace of mind. But she's not the only one out in the bad bad world. And why does it seem that someone is following Sakura not to find Sasuke but for their own dubious intentions.
1. Beginning of a new life

Sakura stared into the cup of tea thinking about how over the years her team had been torn apart and all from the betrayal of one person. Sakura was determined to find this certain person because she had adopted Naruto's notion that if he returned everything would be okay, sure it was a very far cry from reality but it was all she had left to cling to.

Sakura took one more look around the room she grew up in; it was almost time to set off on her journey to find Sasuke Uchiha and to finally bring peace of mind to one of her oldest and dearest friends. This journey would be long in fact she could end up spending her whole life on this journey and still not get what she set out for. Sakura got out some Anbu armour plating, an Anbu mask and a black wig; she knew that this quest of hers would be risky as it would not be permitted so she was going to do the smart thing and dress up as an Anbu. Since Anbu left the village often on missions it wouldn't be questioned but still there was a chance that they might still check her.

Sakura took off the clothes she already had on then proceeded to put on the disguise. First she put on the black fishnet top then the black shorts and the white arm plates with the white shin plates but the hardest to put on was the white chest plate. Sakura took one more look at the mirror to see her self in this moment; she cut her hair so it was only an inch long then put on the black wig. Sakura wiped a tear off her face just as she put on the Anbu mask then she grabbed her back pack off the bed and set off on her journey.

...

Sakura had made it out of the village without getting caught but she wasn't that far yet and there was a likely chance that as soon as they found her gone they would send someone after her. Sakura knew this but didn't care and she would rather die then see the people she knew and cared for the most suffer any longer.

Once Sakura reached Tanzaku town she took off her mask so she could blend in with the crowd of gamblers and tourists. Sakura walked along the streets until she reached the nearest hotel taking the risk to stay the night even though she was still in a close enough range to get caught.

When Sakura got up to her room she locked the door then the windows and drew the blinds, she might have been to paranoid but this is what she chose and she was going to stick with it even if it killed her. When she relaxed her eyes started to close and she fell in to a deep sleep.

…Switch…

Sasuke was looking over the small town he was hiding out in; he was completely ignoring his latest conquest who was currently sucking on his cock. Sasuke hated this type of thing but his urges we're a distraction that needed to be remedied so he often had women service his needs.

This day had been a complete disaster since he injured his right leg escaping the first bounty hunter he encountered today; luckily he hadn't broken or shattered the bones so he was still able to walk but barely. Sasuke needed to find a healer who didn't ask any questions and fast, the blood of the wound started to seep through the make shift bandage he made from his pants so he pushed off the woman who was servicing him and hobbled over to the bathroom. Sasuke washed the wound again then rewrapped the bandage around his injured leg.

Sasuke looked into the mirror above the bathroom sink and saw how weak his body had become, his anger for his weakness engulfed him and he smashed the mirror to pieces. Hatred had consumed him but just maybe it could be quelled and he could be rid of his demons.

…Switch…

Sakura finally woke up at 10:47am and of course being this late already she for goad the shower and went straight for the check out reception. As Sakura reached the outside of the town she had a choice to make either take the road to the land of Rice Patties where she knew Sasuke had been before and would be comfortable hiding out or take the path which leads to the land of Lightning? After weighting the pros and cons of the situation she chose the former because of his previous affiliation with the land and the people it once contained.

As Sakura walked upon the elongated riverside path all she could think about was not having Naruto with her, after all he's been waiting for a chance like this since Sasuke left it was after all completely unrestricted by Sensei's or comrades who have accompanied them in the past. Sakura thought this all over and came to the conclusion that the power of her selfishness is what drove her to go on this insane quest for the truth, if she had told Naruto she probably would have backed out and he might of actually told someone who would have stopped them.

After travelling for hours Sakura came to a town which seemed to be a stop over for bounty hunters and bandits so she decided to go into the local bar and try to use her youthful beauty to con some man into giving her information. Once she walked into the bar all eyes we're on her of course all the people in the bar we're male so it was no wonder they all looked at her. Sakura chose to sit down at an empty booth so she would have more privacy to talk freely; a few seconds after she sat down a tall, slender and somewhat handsome man sat down next to her. Sakura did a standard flirting technique which entailed her smiling then looking away then looking back at him with a sort of shy expression on her face.

The yet to be known man seemed to be eating up her flirting routine "So what's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?"

Sakura loosened up her shoulders then moved a bang out of her face as part of her flirting routine then proceeded to speak "Well I'm looking for a man with short black hair sort of shaped like a duck with black eyes that can turn if you believe it red"

The man's face turned serious then he relaxed back into the demeanour he had before hand "Now why would you be looking for Sasuke Uchiha?"

Sakura knew this was some sort of trick so she decided to lie her way out "Well I did a job for him a while back problem is he only paid me half of what he promised so as you imagine I am very pissed"

The man seemed to ponder this for a little a while then he had his answer "Your not the first to have this type of problem and let me tell you something little lady no one who looked for that guy every came back well not alive at least"

"If the authorities catch me I'm dead any way so does that change things" Sakura leaned back into her seat and started twirling her hair while slightly pursing her lips.

"I'd hate to see a beautiful young woman like yourself get killed but if your this determined he's been seen along the outskirts of Kikyo town for the past month, it's about a two to three day journey even longer if the mountain side has had another landslide"

"Well thank you very much for your most appreciated information" Now that she had the information she needed Sakura got up and left.

…Switch…

Sasuke was royally pissed as the hidden path that leads out of the bustling town of Kikyo had been blocked off by local law enforcement; he couldn't go the normal route for the same reason he couldn't go the hidden route because of the chance of being seen and recognised was extremely high. So he would have to stay in town until he could find another way out f the town without being seen.

Sasuke just went back to the abandoned mansion he was hiding out in but as soon as he got there he collapsed on to the dusty bed. Sasuke's leg was starting to really give out on him which was complete bad timing, at this rate he would never get out of this town and would end up getting caught.

…Switch…

Sakura traversed along the great forest road for the rest of the day but once it reached night fall she set up camp in a cave which seemed to be the resting place for wolf packs.

Now she had the information she needed she was almost done with her personal quest. All she had to do was locate him then find a way to bring him home or at least make sure he never left her. Sakura thought about how pissed yet proud at the same time the Hokage would be, in fact that's all she thought about since she started this quest. The standing ovation coupled with the punishment she would receive once she got back drove Sakura further than her own selfishness did probably because it was a part of the selfishness but not the original line of selfishness.

...

At the crack of dawn Sakura set out again for Kikyo town which according to other travellers she passed was only a four hour walk from her position which was good because Sakura was starting to get sick of all these natural blockades which protected the town from invaders.

...

Once she finally reached the mountain pass it was completely guarded by soldiers who seemed to be analysing every traveller who was trying to get through the pass. Luckily Sakura had been prepared for this type of situation all along; Sakura was smart enough to not bring weapons with her and to have a fake ID card in her back pack.

Sakura waited in line with the other travellers to have her inspection, it didn't take long for the line to move and so far she had not seen any one been turned away or arrested. When she got to the front of the line the forty year old soldier asked for her to hand over her back pack for inspection. The first thing he pulled out of the back pack was her ID card, which Sakura hoped she made authentic enough for any one to be fooled by it.

"Suki Meiko from the village hidden in the leaves, it seems you've come a long way"

Sakura paused her self for a second then took a slow breath before she spoke "Well I was here four years back visiting family and I had a great time so I decided to come back"

"Well just stay away from the south side of town, anyone who goes that way get's attacked by some young ruffian who keeps eluding us"

"Thanks for your advice, have a nice day"

Sakura watched as he packed everything back in to the back pack then after he was done she picked it up and started to walk slowly along the short distance of the path to the busy town of Kikyo.

It was truly a sight to behold the town of Kikyo was filled with new buildings which we're absolutely covered with neon signs. While wondering around this magnificent town Sakura started thinking about that thug the guard had warned her about, it was a long shot but maybe this thug was Sasuke. The problem was what was she going to say if she did meet him again? Then she thought that Sasuke was a man and men have needs so maybe she would pass herself off as a prostitute? It was all so blurry but her first priority was to get a hotel room since her feet we're aching to the point of nearly bleeding.

…Switch…

Sasuke suddenly woke up after a slight shock to his system; once he got more conscious he realized that shock was his body sensing a familiar chakra presence. It didn't feel like his brother or other members of the Akutsuki it didn't even feel like the chakra of Orochimaru or Kabuto. What ever it was he had to find it fast and identify it as either friend or foe.

…To be continued…


	2. I am not a prostitute

Sakura checked into a hotel not far from the south side of town which she could see from any window in her hotel room. The south side of town was just a small part of the town filled with old run down buildings which could not stand up to any building code, they all looked like they we're going to topple over any minute now. It was the perfect place to start looking for Sasuke but she felt extremely tired and decided t start the search tomorrow.

…Switch…

This familiar chakra seemed to create a burning sensation all over his body; obviously it was a side effect of his body being in this weakened state. Sasuke's search for a healer has been put on hold since he became this sick; it was very difficult for him to move at all let alone make the walk to town.

…Switch…

Sakura after spending a day resting decided to have her dinner in the hotel's dining hall, the hall was filled with other hotel guests who decided to chow down in the hall instead of getting room service and eating in their rooms. The waiter delivered Sakura's bowl of Miso ramen and of course being incredibly starving she ate the oriental noodle soup with gusto.

After dinner Sakura went out to look around the town since she was pretty bored and couldn't even think about being tired. The night was young and the town was filled with joy, every bit of the town of Kikyo was filled with happiness. Soon she found herself near one of the old buildings which marked the difference in territory between this large town.

As Sakura looked upon the rotting old buildings she found herself moving forward with no control what so ever, as she walked the broken roads Sakura noticed that there was a weird vibe around the place. Sakura thought the vibe was the reason why they didn't end up rebuilding the place like the rest of the town.

It took twenty minutes to get to the end of it all, but all there was at the end of town was an enormous severely run down old mansion. It was very strange because the mansion wasn't as dilapidated as the rest of the buildings in fact it just seemed dirty not ruined. When Sakura walked through the door she saw how dusty it was all over the place, it was strange how even though the place was run down the wood hadn't rot through.

Sakura decided to take a shot in the dark "Hello is anybody here?"

"My name is Suki Meiko I'm looking for a Sasuke Uchiha"

…Switch…

Sasuke heard the words all to clearly and grabbed his katana; although the chakra presence of this person was familiar it was not the one which was causing his body to weaken so much. Sasuke limped out of the room and into the upstairs hall way, he leaned against the banister to see who it was. It was no one he recognized and she didn't look like a bounty hunter so obviously she had heard of him by reputation, actually now that he thought about it he recognized the armour.

"Are you here for the capture mission or are you a rouge ninja needing help?"

As soon as Sasuke said that she vanished then appeared a few feet in front of him. The mystery woman pushed her long black hair out of her face so he could see her properly.

"I am Suki Meiko I am here because I heard you need a healer"

"So what do you want in return?"

Sasuke saw the look on her face which gave away that she was pondering what to ask for in return "I need someone to escort be back to my home town Konoha"

"That's going to cost you more than some healing techniques"

"I am not a prostitute" Sasuke could tell by her tone that he had pushed her button which gave him endless joy.

"And I am not exactly welcome in the Hidden Leaf Village but those are my terms. So I would tell that drunken Hokage of yours to shove it"

"I can offer you immunity"

Sasuke stopped and realized what a big opportunity this was for him but he had to see if it was a trap so he decided to brooch the subject further "How can you do this?"

"A life swap. The Hokage has already decided on a sentence for you if you do eventually return so I would take your place for the punishment"

"What if the punishment is death?"

"Unlikely as the Uchiha family is a boost to the village's military status so it would be foolish to kill you but if that's the punishment so be it"

This offer seemed to good to be true so he decided to trip her up "Why would you do this for me?"

"Because my mentor Sakura Haruno died over a week ago and she wanted to see you return to the village one day, so as a loyal protégé I am willing to sacrifice my life to make her dreams come true"

Sasuke was shocked at this last statement and he was surprised at how much he felt because of the news of his former comrade's death. Sasuke turned around and started to hobble back to his room. Sasuke sat on the side of his bed with his head down just staring into nothing like a delirious mental patient.

…Switch…

Sakura was surprised that he was taking the fake news so badly after all she was just anther over the top fan girl to him. What ever the case Sakura wanted to get back to the topic of business and not just mope all day long about her supposed death.

"Alright I'm willing to give into your extra services charge, so do we have a deal?"

"Sure now heal me"

Sakura tuned the chakra finely then concentrated it in her hands, after Sasuke laid down she placed her hands above his body. Sakura thought it was strange that Sasuke was healing slowly, there must have been more damage then it looked like. Sakura was worried by this because she might not even be able to heal him fully.

…

The next morning was completely hazy as Sakura spent most of it half asleep, instead of staying in her nice cosy hotel bed Sakura ended up falling asleep on the bed with Sasuke which of course frustrated her to no end. Of course Sakura was trying to convince Sasuke to come back to the hotel room with her but he hadn't budged on the subject.

"Oh come on if we have to suffer can we at least suffer in luxury for something I already paid for?"

"No because that would entice you to leave the room and leaving the room is a bad idea"

"What if I stick it out with you in the room?"

"You know you're as stubborn as her"

"So I'm guessing that's a yes. Okay I'll go pack your things wait all you have is that stupid sword so I guess we're good to go"

"If you just had pink hair you would be exactly like her"

Sakura flinched at this comment which just deepened her sadness even more. She soon distanced herself from this line of thought and helped Sasuke walk. Sakura let him lean on her shoulder, the closeness just served as a reminder for what she felt for him. Soon enough though this pain would go away because she didn't plan on living out the entire sentence which awaited her back in Konoha.

…Switch…

So far Sasuke had been severely annoyed by this change of venue but he knew that he would've eventually had to leave that god awful place he was staying in. Although maybe he would feel better if he knew why he felt close to this girl who until two days ago he never knew existed. To Sasuke Suki Meiko was the ultimate mystery in life; she acted like she knew his inner being, she constantly generated a familiar aura and she acted like a dead woman who Sasuke thought he had gotten over years ago. Sasuke made it one of his priorities to find out the whole truth about Suki Meiko.

Sasuke was lying down on the bed because he had been worn out all after noon, the very familiar chakra from before had come back and Sasuke could tell it was getting closer. Sasuke was scared because this person was probably out to compromise this deal with Suki, it might even be some one from the Hidden leaf village who still holds a grudge against him. After a long time of thinking on this train of thought he could feel his body being forcefully shaken which made him get out of his mind.

"Hey Sasuke are you okay?"

It was so puzzling to Sasuke because the expression she was giving off now was the same one he had seen on Sakura a thousand times before "I'm fine I was just figuring out our strategy"

"Okay well its eight o'clock and I'm going to order in dinner so what do you want?"

It took a second for Sasuke to register what she was saying but he knew his answer immediately "I don't really care as long as it's edible"

"Alright but don't yell at me if you end up hating your meal"

Sasuke watched as Suki triumphantly walked to the room's phone and flipped her hair while she did it. Sasuke smirked at this little amusing show Suki was providing; it definitely was going to make this whole escapade a lot more interesting.

It took half an hour but room service finally delivered their dinner up to the room. Sasuke relished every second of the first proper meal he had had in months while Suki just sat there fiddling around with hers. Sasuke could have sworn that he even saw a tear slide down her perfect porcelain cheek but the next time he looked all traces of the tear was gone.

...Switch…

Sakura was breaking down inside, before her body gave in for a second and tear went down her cheek but she soon rectified that. At this point she really couldn't afford to break down and cease to be useful. This emotional outburst was probably the delayed effect of finally being able to bring Sasuke back to the Hidden Leaf village, Sakura ended up not eating her dinner at all. Sakura just got up then went to the bed then pulled up the covers and laid down.

"I miss her too you know"

The sudden voice of the Uchiha made Sakura's body shake like a maraca "What do you mean?"

"Sakura was very important to me once and now that she's gone it hurts"

"Really Sakura said she thought you had long stopped caring for her"

"Yes that was true but now it's not"

With that the conversation ended and Sakura started to cry under the covers. The conversation had overwhelmed her and eventually she ended up going to sleep.

…To be continued…


	3. Stalker in the midst

Sakura sat on the floor reading then re-reading the note she found by the door this morning, Sasuke was still asleep so Sakura hadn't told him about the note but she doubted she would have told him if he was awake. The note was directed at Sakura so it was obviously someone she knew back in Konoha but who would be this psycho? It was at that moment that Sasuke started to move around in the bed, Sakura immediately hid the note in her jacket pocket.

"What time is it?"

Sakura was still fazed so it took her a minute to register what he said "Its 11:45"

"I can't believe I slept in that late"

Sakura watched as Sasuke got up and sat down next to her, his face was completely pale and he looked very worn out. Sasuke rubbed his worn out eyes while he was still getting used to the morning air. Sakura faked a smile then went to the bathroom; she locked the door and turned on the shower taps. Sakura got undressed and jumped in the shower. Sakura let the sound of water splurging from the shower head drown out her crying.

The note she had received had greatly disturbed Sakura, her whole body was shaking violently at the thought of it. It was definitely going to be hard to hide the note from Sasuke until they got to the Hidden Leaf village but she had to do it.

…Switch…

While Suki was in the shower Sasuke was packing her belongings, Sasuke had sensed the chakra presence from before getting closer and stronger. Sasuke had to find a way to get Suki to leave immediately other wise they we're both done for. Maybe if he made up some bullshit about not being able to wait any longer to leave town she would get the hint.

When Suki walked out of the bathroom shaking and wrapped in a towel Sasuke decided to leave the room. As Sasuke closed the door behind him he noticed a yellow piece of paper on the ground, he picked it up and read the shoddy hand writing on the paper. The words on it we're very cruel and precise and it was very clear that they we're aimed at Suki but Sasuke had never known some one this psycho from the Hidden Leaf village excluding himself, Kabuto and Orochimaru.

…Switch…

Sakura noticed that Sasuke had packed all her belongings back into her bag which scared her a little, although it was a sign that he wanted to leave already which was a good thing. Sakura got dressed quickly then grabbed her bag and exited the room, she saw Sasuke pacing back and forth like mad.

"So we're leaving now great"

"Yeah I got the feeling you wanted to leave when you packed all my stuff into my bag"

"Well it's better if we leave now before they really crack down on security"

"Okay but how are we going to get you throw the security?"

"Well it's very simple the guards don't get to the pass before one so that gives a bit over an hour to get there"

Sakura smiled then walked down to the reception area with Sasuke to check out, it only took five minutes to get it all sorted out then they ran as fast as they could to the mountain pass.

…

They had been on the road for five hours now and Sakura decided they should set up camp for the night. Night fall had come shortly after they set up camp so now Sakura was cooking fish on an open fire. It was some what nostalgic if only they had Naruto there then it would be exactly like the time they first took the Chunin exams.

Sakura watched on as the fish started too slowly cook but her mind was thinking about the note she had hidden in her jacket. Sakura was so stuck in her mind that she didn't notice that she had burned the fish but Sasuke didn't complain after all he was just happy to eat.

…Switch…

Sasuke noticed that Suki had been uncharacteristically quiet during this evening so he just spent the time looking at the constellations in the sky. It was weird being this peaceful but then again Sasuke was never content unless there was something exciting going on.

The night air had done something to Sasuke because his mind and body had been over come with the feeling of lust. It was at this time that Sasuke remembered the second part of the deal he made with Suki and decided to make a stop over to the tent.

Suki was dressed only in a baggy top and underpants as she was kneeling on her sleeping while brushing her long, black and messy hair. Suki looked up to see Sasuke towering tall with a big grin on his face.

"It's time to execute the second part of the deal"

"Oh so your no longer able to take of it yourself" The sarcastic tone in her voice only spurred Sasuke on.

Sasuke slowly lowered his body so he was kneeling on the sleeping bag and right in front of Suki. The look on her face was a combination of confusion and fright as Sasuke lightly traced his fingers across her porcelain cheek. With out realizing it Sasuke leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers very lightly.

The kiss was getting very animated as Suki unclenched her jaw and allowed Sasuke's tongue to explore her mouth. Sasuke started to rub Suki's right shoulder roughly as she fell back on to the sleeping bag. Sasuke noticed Suki's breath get uneasy as he slid one hand across her chest and used the other to take off her top. Sasuke repositioned his body so his head was now at her chest; he grabbed her left breast and teasingly licked the top of her hard nipple. Sasuke got into the rhythm and started to bite her pert pink nipple.

Sasuke glided down and took off Suki's pants with his teeth. After he flung them to the side he started to kiss her left foot then worked up her body all the way back to her lips. Sasuke's hard member was yearning for pleasure it was about to receive, he slowly inserted himself inside of Suki which made her moan very softly. Sasuke's breath hitched as he manoeuvred himself in and out of Suki, Suki bucked up wards every time Sasuke pushed down increasing each others pleasure. Sasuke looked directly into Suki's eyes to see the captivating emerald orbs which now gazed back at onyx orbs which we're filled with excitement.

Their bodies had become one moving in time with each other. Suki's chest heaved up and down making the desire in Sasuke grow more and more with each breath she took. Sasuke fiercely grabbed Suki's right leg and raised it so it was over his shoulder. Sasuke started to speed up which made Suki moan even louder than before, Suki adjusted her pace to keep up with Sasuke as he rhythmically moved his body.

The pressure which had been building this whole time was about to break through, his body was writhing on top of hers anticipating the awaited feeling which was to come. Sasuke's arched his back upwards as his body released the awesome fury which was his orgasm; he took deep breath's as he moved to lie down on the sleeping bag. Suki didn't say anything so Sasuke didn't talk either, eventually they both drifted off into a deep sleep.

…Switch…

Sakura still had a giddy feeling from last nights activities which made her smile all morning. Sakura gathered some more food from the various tree's in the forest while Sasuke packed up camp, although there was many fruits and berries growing on the tree's only a few of them weren't poisonous. As Sakura picked apples from a tree she noticed that one of the apples had a yellow piece of paper attached to them, she picked it from the apple and read the writing on the paper.

Sakura dropped what she was holding and put her hand over her mouth in shock. It was another threatening letter like before with the same sloppy hand writing. Shock had taken hold of Sakura's entire body and tears started to slowly move down her cheek. Sakura moved her head to look around her but all she could see for miles on end was the tree's which made up the forest. Sakura did the first thing which came to mind when she stopped looking around, she ran as fast as her legs would carry her through the forest.

It was like she was living a nightmare one she couldn't wake up from no matter how hard she tried; her heart was racing much like it did last night but for a different reason entirely. For Sakura everything started to feel like it was going in slow motion, she felt incredibly helpless against this stalking stranger. All that could be heard was the sound of flowing water and her feet hitting the dirt like the fast beat of a drum. Even though she couldn't feel someone watching her she still ran and soon she found herself lost.

Sakura panicked as all she saw was tree's and with no discernable path in sight Sakura did the only other thing she could "SASUKE PLEASE HELP ME" Sakura yelled that sentence over and over as loud as she could until her throat could do it no more.

…Switch…

It had been hours and Sasuke was starting to worry about Suki so he picked up all the bags and ran towards the direction she went. Eventually he found a spot with one of Sakura's bags half filled with fruit she had picked from the near by tree's, Sasuke looked around but found no foot prints on the ground. Sasuke bent down to inspect the bag further to see if it had any clues as to which way she went.

Sasuke found nothing else in the bag but a few feet away was a yellow sheet of paper, the message n the paper was clear and precise. It was a threat letter and it clearly stated that it was targeted at Sakura Haruno.

Sasuke's head was feeling like a mess and he started to talk to himself "I can't believe she lied to me or that she was so good at it"

It was all so sudden and such an emotional bruise that Sasuke didn't notice the poison tipped Senbon aimed directly at his back, at first his body stood still then it started to shake slowly then his eyes got drowsy. Sasuke was about to pass out and for the giant blur right in front of him it was exactly the right moment. As Sasuke was slipping into a forced sleep he kept calling out Sakura over and over again, he swore he could even feel her soft bubble gum locks in numb hands.

…Switch…

Sakura had calmed down a lot and started to slowly but carefully follow the path next to a river, the paranoia had set in very much and Sakura had to literally stop every five minutes to calm herself back down. As she traversed the river path she could see the shadow of her stalker in the water but she couldn't figure out the shape exactly.

Sakura kept taking deep breath's making sure she didn't give away her knowledge of her stalkers position, the shadow got closer and closer with each step she took but still she didn't panic. Sakura slowly fastened her pace and when she looked at the rivers flowing waters she saw no shadow, she stopped then heaved a big sigh but all her relief was for naught as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Sakura's body stiffened as the icy hand gripped her shoulder tightly, her eyes started to water as she knew her end was nigh.

Sakura turned around to see the face of her stalker, when saw his face she fell backwards and gaped for air. Sakura gazed in amazement as her stalkers face went from a stoic facade to a benevolent grin.

"What's the matter Sakura? Am I not who you expected?"

...To be continued...


	4. Never ending suspicion

The demented look in his eyes told Sakura that the determined boy she once knew was long gone but she couldn't stay this surprised she had to stall for time so she could come up with a plan. It was hard but Sakura managed to calm down enough to talk.

"Naruto I'm glad to see you. What are you doing here?" Sakura's voice was shaky which sort of frightened her after all she needed to keep a cool head.

"Well someone had to help you realize your little quest to restore Sasuke's sanity was futile after all he abandoned us both and left us to rot because it was beneficial to him, he doesn't care about us he never did" The sharp tone of his loud voice shook Sakura to the core.

Sakura was terrified of what he might do next so she prodded further "So what are you going to do now?"

"Correction we, we are going home"

Sakura's body started to tremble violently as Naruto grabbed her off the ground and started pushing her along the path. All this hurt Sakura emotionally more than it terrified her because this is what she tried to avoid when she set out on her mission. Unfortunately she was too late and someone she loved had snapped but it terrified her even more to think the man who overcame so much had finally broken down and turned into this psychopath.

…Switch…

Sasuke struggled to get up since his body was still breaking down the poison in its system, the poison wasn't deadly but it did its purpose which was to paralyse. Sasuke couldn't get his body to stand so he had to sort of crawl on the ground, the dirt underneath him flew up and hit him in the face every time he moved making it all the more difficult.

After a few minutes Sasuke stopped to take a breather, all this moving around was more than his body could handle at the moment. As Sasuke laid flat on his back with his left arm on his stomach the sun peered through the tree's and blinded his site, the situation seemed hopeless but Sasuke wasn't going to give up after all she was willing to give her life for his so he should be obliged to do the same. It wasn't long before the poison kicked in again and Sasuke fell asleep.

…Switch…

Sakura walked along like she was told to do but still she couldn't think of anything yet, it was safe to say that Naruto had done something to Sasuke to make sure he didn't find them so Sakura decided to bring up that subject.

"What did you do to Sasuke?"

"Assuming the poison worked properly he should be dead or at least dying by now"

Sakura had to control herself to make sure she didn't completely break down there "If that's the case I would like to see him one last time"

"Fine but remember he won't care"

The stern look on Naruto's face troubled Sakura but she nodded then walked along beside him, Sakura noticed a slight twitch in Naruto's left hand but she just looked forward again and forgot all about it.

…

Sakura ran towards Sasuke's passed out body on the ground and grabbed hold of it, Sakura call out "Sasuke please wake up" over and over again but it was hopeless the poison had incapacitated him. Sakura put her arms around his body then dug her head into his chest and started to cry heavily, her sadness completely overwhelmed her as she lost control and conveyed all her feelings on the spot.

Sakura stayed like that for as long as possible and Naruto didn't do a thing to stop her from grieving, she found it very comforting to know there was still a tiny bit left of the old Naruto but finding a way to bring it out completely was going to be hard.

Sakura lifted up her body so she could look directly at his cold pale face one more time, even in death his face was still not peaceful but it was something Sakura wanted to remember for the rest of her life. Sakura made her shaking body stand up right then walk away from Sasuke's lifeless body, it was definitely the hardest thing she ever had to do in her life.

…

Sakura wasn't surprised that after two days she was still reeling from Sasuke's death but she had run out of time to come up with a plan since they we're now outside the village gate. Tsunade stood right at the gate with a few Anbu but she couldn't really care at the moment.

"Sakura it's great to see Naruto found you" Lady Tsunade smiled then put her hands on Sakura's shoulders to reassure her.

Sakura wasn't in a good mood so she came off as arrogant and a bit of a prick "I wouldn't call it great especially under the circumstances"

Tsunade's smile disappeared as she slowly took her hands off Sakura's shoulders, she could tell Sakura had changed a lot in this small amount of time. Tsunade was terrified of what she might have turned into; she guided Sakura to the Hokage's mansion with the Anbu to be interrogated.

…

After several hours of interrogating Sakura was taken back home but all Sakura did was stay in her room and cry, not only over the fact that Sasuke had died but when she told the Anbu interrogating her exactly what happened they didn't believe her and the Hokage had her put on a special watch. Sakura had to find someone who believed her after all someone must have noticed Naruto change; you don't just go from zero to crazy like that it's a very long process.

Sakura got up from her bed then looked at her picture she had taken a few weeks after she had become a Genin; Sakura looked at how happy Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke we're. Sakura just knew she had to help Naruto even if it meant his death, seeing this psychopath replace him was worse then seeing him crumble because Sasuke left.

Sakura sighed as she finally took off her wig to reveal her extremely short and frazzled pink hair, as she gazed at her bubble gum locks in the mirror Sakura didn't like it. Sakura thought that her pink hair was just a way for her to forget about what happened so she quickly put her wig back on. Sakura put her hand through the long black strands of hair while thinking of her magical night with Sasuke even if it was just part of their deal it was still a precious night for Sakura.

Sakura snapped out of her train of thought then looked at her bedroom door, she felt the need to get out of this room but where would she go? What would she do? It did provide an excuse for her to start asking questions about Naruto but she had to make sure Naruto didn't see her asking people these types of questions.

Sakura opened her closet then grabbed her long dark pink overcoat and put it on; Sakura also grabbed her black gloves then put them on. Sakura had to go out and find some answers about Naruto, even though the Hokage might stop her she had to at least try to find something. As Sakura was about to leave she remembered the medication she kept in the drawer opposite her bed, she rushed over and searched for the syringes of tranquilizers she kept to use for missions or if a man got to grabby. Sakura put a couple of the syringes into her right over coat pocket then opened her window, Sakura stepped out on to the balcony then closed the window behind her. After that Sakura jumped off the balcony and went in search of people to question.

…Switch…

Sasuke woke up to the feeling of his chest being soaked but surprisingly the rest of him wasn't, he got up from the ground but his right arm was still completely numb so he couldn't move it at all. On further inspection Sasuke realised his arm was broken in two places, Sasuke ripped off his purple sleeveless top and wrapped it around his broken arm. It made for a make shift cast and brace but it would have to do for now, even though his body was working off the poison still and it would make more sense to find a healer Sasuke made it his first priority to find Sakura.

At this point the leg which he had Sakura heal was starting to act up which only fuelled Sasuke's anger even more, as he slowly walked along the path he was thinking about who his attacker was. The only person he could think of who had the motive and knowledge was Kabuto Yakushi but Sasuke had gone and killed Kabuto himself months ago but then again Kabuto was always tricky and proficient in healing techniques. Kabuto could have just appropriated Orochimaru's old trick and found a body to transfer to for the time being. It was definitely something he had to consider in the mean time.

…Switch…

Sakura had asked most of her old acquaintances questions about Naruto but they thought she was the crazy one. The people she had left to ask we're Neji, Shikamaru, TenTen and Lee. Hopefully they had noticed something but Sakura wasn't counting on it especially if the Hokage had told them she was crazy like she had seem to have done with the others she questioned.

When Sakura reached the training grounds she saw Neji and TenTen sparring quite animatedly so she let them finish before she announced her presence. It was quite nice seeing them acting normal as if nothing had happened but maybe they weren't aware of the current situation. Watching them made Sakura reminisce about her younger years of training always trying to better herself then healing became her obsession. Maybe things we're better because of the way they turned out? Maybe it was better that she didn't give up?

When Neji and TenTen stopped training they immediately noticed Sakura sitting down by a tree watching them, TenTen just shrugged but Neji stormed over to her with TenTen in tow.

"You know it's rude to watch people you don't know?"

Sakura just smirked then put her hands in front of her to symbol stop "Neji it's just me. I came here to ask you and TenTen some questions"

"Oh it's just you Sakura, you know the Hokage is going round and saying you're mentally unstable"

"Yeah I realized that when talking to some of the others before"

TenTen decided to talk now "Wait what do you want to question us about?"

"Well I'm not nuts Naruto just convinced the Hokage I was so now she thinks anything I say is a lie"

Neji held his head down and smiled "Yeah we noticed his personality changed two months ago when we went on an under cover mission" Neji looked out at the sky watching the wind blow through the trees.

"Naruto's cover got blown and they tortured him for a week until we we're able to get him out, when we got him out he had totally changed and he was muttering some nonsense" TenTen put her right hand on her forehead and started tapping her headband.

Sakura thought about this for a minute and knew it made sense "We're Lee and Shikamaru on the mission with you?"

Neji sat down on the ground next to Sakura "Yes each of us played a vital part in the mission but we weren't able to complete it because Naruto got captured"

TenTen sat down on the ground so she was opposite Neji "We tried to tell the Hokage about it but suspiciously he passed a psychological evaluation test so the Hokage doesn't think twice when something weird comes his way"

Sakura got up then started walking away but she stopped "Get Lee and Shikamaru to me meet me here two days from now so we can plan a way to get some evidence against Naruto" Sakura kept walking away not sure if they we're being truthful or if they we're just distracting her because the Hokage ordered they to but at the moment they we're all she had.

…

Sakura had broken into Naruto's apartment and was now searching around for some evidence, as Sakura rummaged through his bed side drawers she found a journal. Sakura read through the pages and noticed that he stopped writing into it after the date he came back from the mission Neji and TenTen talked about, Sakura slipped the journal into her left overcoat pocket then headed for the door. Just as Sakura was about to reach for the door knob the door opened to revel Naruto holding his key in one hand and bag of groceries in the other.

Naruto straightened up then smiled "Sakura what a surprise but my birthday is not for a while"

Sakura forced a laugh as she was trying to find the right words to say "Well it's just we haven't had any social time together it's just been all business"

Naruto stepped inside then closed the door; he then walked over to Sakura and kissed her on the cheek "I'm glad to see you've come to your senses"

"Sasuke is dead so it's all over so why should I continue to mull over him?"

"Exactly well I hope you still like Miso ramen because that's all I got, if I knew I was going to have company I would have got something else"

"That's alright I don't mind"

Sakura sat down on the couch as Naruto heated up the ramen in the kitchen; Sakura was mentally scolding herself for being this careless. Sakura couldn't believe she had let herself get caught well not exactly Naruto didn't know why she was truly here. Naruto came over to the table and placed the cooling off ramen on the table; Sakura just gritted her teeth and fiddled with her hair while Naruto was talking.

After they finished the ramen Sakura was thinking of excuses to get out of there as fast as she could, of course Naruto was talking non stop which didn't give her a chance to say anything. Suddenly Naruto leaned forward then stroked Sakura's cheek lightly; Naruto crushed his lips against Sakura's roughly which made her panic. Sakura reached into her overcoat pocket to grab the syringe, she quietly unwrapped the packaging off the syringe then plunged it into Naruto's neck then pressed down on it. Naruto immediately stiffened then slumped down on to Sakura's body, as Sakura pushed Naruto's body off herself she noticed a small book in Naruto's jacket pocket.

Sakura took the small book out of his jacket then flipped through it, it was another journal and the first date he wrote into it was the day he got back from the mission with the others. Naruto wrote in it a detailed account of how he was tortured and exactly what was going on in his mind ever since, it even described his plan to get rid of Sasuke. It was a gold mine of evidence now all Sakura had to do was get out of here with out any ninja seeing her handy work; Sakura grabbed the syringe out of Naruto's neck then went out through the front door.

Now that she had both journals she had all the evidence she needed but it occurred to Sakura that even with this evidence the Hokage might not believe it to be true. So Sakura did the only thing she could do which was to hide the other journal in her one of her overcoat pockets then go home, she might not even go meet Shikamaru and Lee like she asked because it was very likely a trap set by the Hokage.

…

When Sakura reached home she went inside through her bedroom window because frankly she didn't want her parents to know what she was up to, once Sakura got inside she immediately took out the medication she had stuffed in her drawers and hid it all under her bed. Sakura couldn't rule out that someone might go snooping through her room maybe they even did it already, but she didn't put the journals under there she choose to keep them on her at all times because they we're the one thing she couldn't afford to lose.

When she was done with all that she sat down on the chair that stood beside her vanity counter, she put her elbows on the counter than put her head into her hands then closed her eyes. It had been one hell of a day and it wasn't even over, when Sakura opened her eyes she noticed a purple piece of paper with writing on it. Sakura picked up the paper and read it carefully.

Sakura if you want to know the truth through all this confusion meet me in the forest of death at ten am tomorrow. I will help you through all this but I expect for you to do exactly as I say.

Sakura flung her head backwards then laugh hysterically I mean how obvious was this trap but Sakura had to admit this person had more guts than the rest of them she might even go just to show them what courage was rewarded with. With that Sakura just went to her bed and collapsed. It had been one rough day and Sakura wanted to get it over with as fast as possible.

…To be continued…


	5. Unexpected turn

Sakura rubber her eyes as she sat down on her chair adjacent to the vanity counter, she swirled her spoon around in her bowl of rice porridge. Sakura just woke up an hour ago and was thinking about the note she received last night, Sakura was considering whether she should go or not because she was definitely not in the mood to bash the shit out of any backstabbers today. Sakura still had an hour till the meeting to decide if she was going or not, eventually she decided to go just to see who it was that left the note.

When Sakura finally got out to the forest of death no one was there so she just hid under water until she heard someone, the foot steps got closer until they inevitably stopped right in front of the stream Sakura was hiding in. Sakura took a peek to see who it was and was shocked to see it was Kabuto, he was rumoured to be dead months ago but then again that's all it was a rumour.

Kabuto did his signature mannerism and pressed his index finger to on the rim of his glasses to push them back then smirked "Sakura I'm not here to play games"

Sakura emerged from the water much like the lady of the lake to reveal herself "I'm sorry I'm not going to destroy my village"

As Kabuto watched Sakura walk away he started to plead his case "Actually I need the nine tailed fox neutralized other wise I'm dead meat and you need him neutralized because he has every one against you"

Sakura stopped in her tracks "I want Naruto to get the help he needs not be killed by some psychopath's protégé"

Sakura started walking away again but Kabuto rushed behind her and pinned her to a tree; one hand was on her neck while the other was holding her arms behind her back. Sakura glared at the murderous yet peaceful look in Kabuto's eye, after a few minutes of staring each other down Kabuto released her from his vice like grip. Sakura rubbed her sore arms as Kabuto smiled devilishly, Sakura really wanted to wipe the smile off his hooded face.

"Naruto being institutionalized is still good for me after all once he's been admitted to the nut house he'll never be able to leave the village again let alone be a ninja so you see we can both win"

Sakura thought about it for a while and knew what he said made sense but was it really worth it listening to him and siding with him? "Find yourself another lackey any way even if I was to side with you how do I know you're the real Kabuto and not just some set up?"

Kabuto's smirk grew wider "Well I know something that will convince you that I am who I say I am" Kabuto lunged for her neck then bit down, Sakura felt a surge through her whole body which paralysed her for an instant. As soon as Kabuto released himself from the bit he disappeared.

Sakura felt extremely sick she needed to get home quickly to see what she was dealing with. Sakura looked around to see if any one was there; if some one saw her there they might think she was a traitor. After she finished checking the area she ran as fast as she could to get home.

…

Sakura opened her bed room window then rushed over to the mirror attached to her vanity counter; she examined the bite mark closely along with its tamoe's which we're a sign of Orochimaru's curse mark which meant it really was Kabuto. Sakura sighed then pulled out her chair and slumped down into it, Sakura lifted her head up to see what was in the mirror. It was none other than the orange jumpsuit enthusiast himself standing right by her window which he seemed to have closed.

A smirk was plastered across his face "Hello Sakura, may we continue our previous encounter?" The smug attitude which he exuded through his voice made Sakura twitch.

"Really you want to continue our little romantic entanglement I guess you're more energetic than I thought"

Sakura even though she wasn't sure whether to be scared or not played along with Naruto's delusion. Sakura flittered her fingers across her neck then down to her jacket buttons, she took off her overcoat to reveal a lacy pink bustier with a matching pink lacy g-string. Sakura noticed how Naruto's attention was more focused then before which played right in to Sakura's plan, Sakura swayed her body seductively as she walked towards Naruto. Naruto traced his fingers down Sakura's body until he got down to her arse; he squeezed her posterior then started kissing her neck vigorously as she moaned.

Sakura was disgusted with being this close to the one who killed Sasuke but she knew Kabuto was watching and that he had a plan so for the time being she had to serve as a distraction. Of course the closeness of an attractive male did make her body give off the natural reaction of arousal but Sakura fought it, although she had to admit that it was nice to feel a warm body next to hers. As Sakura was fighting against her emotions she heard a shattering sound and felt Naruto's body shake, Sakura watched on in shock as he collapsed on to the floor.

"Sorry I took so long I had trouble finding some where to contain him"

Sakura immediately went for her overcoat to cover herself up in Kabuto's presence "What do you mean contain him?"

"Those journals you stole we're decoys he created for someone like us to find and the books with his real long term plans are hidden some where so we have to keep him contained while we're looking"

"That's not going to be easy with all these ninjas doing inspections since I got back"

"Actually thanks to my dead master we have some where to hide him and keep him knocked out at the same time"

"Orochimaru's underground medical lab, I guess that could work but you'd have to constantly check up on him since they are probably keeping a close eye on me"

Kabuto picked up the unconscious Naruto and slung him across his shoulder, Sakura ran to the window to open it for him. Sakura sighed then checked outside to see if any one was watching, after a few minutes of carefully scanning the area she confirmed no one was watching them.

"I'll be back tomorrow to meet you here then we'll go dig up what we can at his apartment"

Sakura nodded then watched as Kabuto disappeared into the night with out a trace, Sakura stepped back then closed the window. As Sakura held on to the window handles she started to cry like a little girl who lost her favourite doll, the events of what happened to her over the past two weeks just caught up with her all at once. Of course the death of Sasuke is what got to her the most; Sakura fell to the ground with her head against the window. The warm tears streaked down her cheeks like a shower head on full blast, but just as quickly as it started the crying stopped like some one had flipped a switch.

Sakura stood up then walked over and laid down on her bed, she closed her eyes tightly and tried to drift off to sleep. Sakura tried to remain in an undisturbed state but was unsuccessful because all she could focus on was her parents talking down stairs, they usually talked this loud and it didn't bother Sakura but this time it did because it only highlighted the fact that she needed to have her own place but it was very doubtful the Hokage would let this happen after recent events. Either way she was going down to the Hokage's mansion tomorrow to fill out an application for an apartment.

…

Sakura was spending most of her morning filling out a tremendous amount for papers which she had to fill out; she was basically stuck in this large room with a desk and a big amount of people in chairs also filling out forms. All in all it was very tedious and Sakura couldn't wait to get out again. After three hours of signing forms and waiting Sakura was called up by Shizune to red over the papers, Sakura was led into a mall room where Lady Tsunade was sitting at a desk and Shizune went to sit in the chair next to her. The Hokage stared at Sakura for a full minute trying to gauge her position in this matter; Tsunade examined the papers carefully then placed them down on the table.

"Alright I'm willing to accept your application on the condition that you don't accept any out of village missions for a month. In light of recent circumstances I think this is a very generous offer on my part"

"It is and I accept"

"Well then head to room 405 to get your apartment key"

"Thank you Lady Hokage"

…

It took a whole week for Sakura to pack up, move in then un-pack and surprisingly Sakura was more worn out than she should have been. Besides the move the week had been pretty uneventful since she didn't end up meeting Shikamaru and Lee but it turned out she was right when she thought it was a trap because the next day she saw them talking to Lady Tsunade.

Sakura stood by her sink waiting for the bile in her throat to finally come out her mouth, besides the extreme exhaustion Sakura had been throwing up for the past three days. Sakura just thought it was the Flu so she didn't test for anything. As she finally vomited into the sink Sakura thought it was time to check on Kabuto, maybe he had some good news to cheer her up with.

…

As Sakura walked down the stone corridors of the underground lab all she could feel was a creepy vibe she just couldn't shake like something bad was going to happen. Sakura eventually reached the chamber where Kabuto kept Naruto, Kabuto was fussing over some read out on the screen while grabbing a syringe of something and injecting it into Naruto's IV. As Sakura got closer to the screen she could see Naruto was crashing and if they didn't do something quickly he would die.

Sakura watched the read out and gave Kabuto directions as they tried to revive Naruto, Sakura couldn't actually help with her hands because they we're shaking violently after all she wanted Naruto cured not dead. Things kept getting worse by the second which made Sakura's eyes water, the more her eyes got watery the harder it was to read the screen but she didn't need the screen to see that Naruto was about to go. Sakura smashed the console in frustration then turned around and stood next to Naruto's body, as the tears rolled down her cheeks Sakura performed CPR even after his heart stopped beating.

"Sakura stop it's no use now"

Kabuto had to pull her off Naruto so she would stop trying to revive the dead body right in front of her. Sakura went straight down to the floor crying, as she kneeled down on the ground with her arms flat on the floor holding up her body she let out all her sadness. Sakura had lost the two people she loved the most in the space of three weeks how much more did she have to lose before this was all over?

Kabuto kneeled down next to Sakura then started to shake her "Hey I here some one in the distance we have to get out of here before they catch us"

Sakura lifted her head up from the cold marble floor "You go on a head I have nothing to live for any more"

"Well if you change your mind and want to escape with me I'll be hiding out in the forest of death for as long as possible"

Sakura nodded then let her head fall back to the hard ground beneath her as she left out her sorrows through her tears. The sound of dozens of steps echoed through the corridors of this under ground chamber and they we're getting closer and closer. The steps stopped as they reached Sakura who was still on the ground crying in the praying position.

One them grabbed Sakura off the ground then put her in chakra cuffs but it didn't matter she was no threat at the moment she probably won't ever be a threat again.

…To be continued…


	6. What is it they say about lawyers?

The light glared down judgementally at Sakura's exhausted body like an executioner to a condemned prisoner. The light was so powerful that it blinded Sakura to keep her eyes open but it hurt more to close them. Sakura tried to wiggle out of the restraints around her legs and arms but it was useless as the rest of her struggling. Sakura had been locked away in an isolation cell for almost three weeks in which time they hadn't fed her, Sakura recognized it as a traditional form of torture to get people to talk. Sakura tilted her head to the side to see the guard just sitting on the ground in front of the door, the mask-less Anbu man shuffled his deck of cards until he was positive that they would be unpredictable enough to provide a challenge.

Sakura felt nauseous as she recounted the events which led her to this prison cell, before she was able to finalize these thoughts the door opened to reveal the next guard. Sakura again tilted her head to the side to see Neji in civilian clothes holding three folders which we're filled to the brink with papers. The Anbu guard picked up his deck of cards as well as his clipboard with an attached pen then left the room leaving Neji and Sakura to wallow in the silence. Neji pressed against a chakra seal on the wall which was coded to specific DNA patterns which of course lifted the restraints on Sakura so she was able to move freely.

Neji smirked at Sakura's weak form then laid back against the wall "Quite a unique position you have gotten yourself into, maybe if you weren't so paranoid we could have helped you then you wouldn't be in this mess" Neji cocked his right eyebrow upwards as a sign to the mischievous attitude he had at the moment.

Sakura sat up on the solid metal slab then cocked her head back and laughed hysterically "Examining my position huh? And here I thought you were here to comment on my hair cut"

Neji just closed his eyes then took a deep breath while he thought over what he was going to say or do next. Sakura was shocked to see Neji like this; it got her thinking about what bad news he was here to deliver. Sakura looked up at the sky light in the ceiling and saw a flock of birds flying in formation "I'm a big girl Neji what ever bad things you have to say I can take it"

Neji just ran a hand through his long silky hair while smiling blankly "Actually I'm here to inform you about my new status as your lawyer"

Without realizing it Sakura's body started to jerk around "Wait they are actually giving me a trial"

"Well they mainly want to hear your side of the story mostly to make the public happy but also so they can prevent something like this from happening again"

Sakura lifted up her knee's then rested her head on them "Nobody could have prevented what I did not even me"

Neji shrugged off what she said as an ending to the conversation "Either way I should be getting your version of events"

…

After two more days in her isolation cell two Anbu escorted Sakura to Lady Tsunade's office where she was given a medical exam by the fifth Hokage herself, the examination included taking about a litre of blood from Sakura. Sakura was later escorted back to her cell; although this time they didn't enable the restraints so Sakura just started pacing around her cell. Sakura thought about bringing up Naruto's journal in the trial but immediately dismissed the idea because they would most likely be thought of as fakes. It was a tough and extremely intricate position she was in but she knew what she was getting into when she set out her journey. Sakura put her hands through her two inch long bubble gum locks then banged her head against the padded wall. The guard watched on in amusement as she repeatedly banged her head.

…

Sasuke held his breath as he hid behind a collapsed brick wall, while tracking Sakura he had the misfortune of attracting several bounty hunters. In the weakened state he was in Sasuke couldn't use any of his Jutsu so he had to wait it out and attack them one on one.

How Sasuke envied these lifeless puppet soldiers, the only higher power they had was money. They are false beings because of the fact that they we're void of emotion. It was exactly like staring right into the eyes of a doll, except these dolls we're savage.

Thinking this over Sasuke knew he wouldn't trade his last year in Konoha for anything even that last moment when Sakura cried begging him to take her with him so she wouldn't be alone. Sasuke also wouldn't give away the night he had with Sakura in the tent.

Maybe it was the scent of blood in the air but Sasuke didn't want to die like a rat on the street, he wanted to go out fighting and with his famous Katana in hand he just might. The sun glinted off the left over pieces of metal from the wreckage which effectively gave away the positions of all seven of the bounty hunters.

Sasuke crouched down behind the closest hunter then executing perfect speed and precision Sasuke sliced her right down the middle, the Katana went through her like a scythe through ripe wheat. The female bounty hunters blood slowly started sliding down the flat of the Katana, in a moment of weakness Sasuke looked at his Katana and all he saw was Sakura crying when he tried to leave all those years ago.

This wave of emotion had surprised him making him halt all motion for a few seconds but that was all it took for someone to knock him out from behind then tie him up and escape from the other money hungry bounty hunters.

…

Sakura woke up this morning feeling a sudden pang of fear, her whole being had frozen over like a glacier. Sakura's tension was only increased when Neji came to discuss the case again; although Neji noticed something was wrong but didn't ask in fear of making it worse which Sakura was thankful for. The mood Sakura was in changed when Neji asked about what happened with Sasuke; strangely enough it made Sakura happy to see someone actually interested in what happened instead of just making this into a political show case for the people.

Sakura stared down at the sweat patches on the light lavender prison jumpsuit she had to wear "If I told the truth no one would believe me or if they did would not understand so for the sake of keeping this a valid truth I must turn into someone I despise" Sakura got up from her seat on the ground then walked over to the middle of the room to look at the sky light.

Neji looked at the exhausted Sakura then at his folders "You're right if we brought it up at trial it would likely be dissected into something far from its intent"

Sakura started to cough as if to avoid staying on this topic of conversation; Neji got the message then continued his examination of the case at hand. Sakura barely listened as Neji went on about how this was just a glorified show case for the public not an actual trial. Sakura just kept on thinking about Sasuke's stone cold lifeless body. Sakura deeply regretted not being able to give him a proper burial, it upset her even more to think of his body just being left on the cold ground to be eaten by Vultures, picturing that scene made Sakura cringe then not surprisingly she threw up. Neji jumped up from his spot on the ground then caught Sakura just before she fell to the ground, Sakura started feeling incredibly dizzy and her body heated up immediately. Sakura started sweating even more so Neji picked her up then placed her on the bed, Sakura's weak frame laid on the solid metal bed while Neji cleaned up the mess she made.

…

Later that night Sakura woke up from her sickened state remembering what happened earlier that day when Neji came to visit. Sakura realized that she was still sick from all those weeks ago but couldn't speculate what was wrong; it seems her common cold had developed into a mutant strain with all the torture tactics the Anbu employed to make her talk. Sakura just had to live with it until she got better or when they sentenced her to death that is if they end up executing her. Execution was the most likely course for what she did but who knows maybe they would just send her to life in prison or a life in a psychiatric hospital.

Sakura thought about all three possibilities but to Sakura the death sentence seemed like the most pleasing option especially seeing as she had nothing left to live for. Although something was bugging Sakura since the other day. Why did Lady Tsunade order that medical test? It certainly was a mystery Sakura had to unravel it might ensure her a fair trial.

…

Sasuke woke up blind folded in what he assumed was a pool of sweat. Sasuke was in a completely phased state of mind, Sasuke assumed this was the work of some narcotic the bounty hunter used to keep him sedated. Of course this meant it would be harder to figure out his surroundings and even harder to escape.

The ground was hard like wood but it wasn't separate planks like most floors it was just one large piece of polished wood, something was dripping on to an exposed part of his neck. No light peered through the blind fold so Sasuke came to the conclusion that it was dark in the room yet he could feel some sort of heat shooting up his right leg.

Sasuke could feel the floor vibrating and the vibrations were getting closer "I wouldn't move if I we're you, I've doped you up so much that it would be extremely unwise. Also you sustained a wound to your leg in the get away so you might bleed out but dead or alive I can still get a sizeable amount of money" The tone of the voice suggested it was a young male but Sasuke had been fooled before.

…

Sakura was anxious to see Neji after all he said he would be checking up on Naruto's psychiatric reports for the last two years, it was Neji's idea to check them in case they gave evidence supporting Sakura's story. It was a long shot after all if a ninja failed on even one psych test it is reported to the Hokage so she can decide the proper treatment.

Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the door unlock, the open door revealed a tired Neji and an energetic yet confused TenTen. Sakura was confused herself she definitely didn't expect TenTen to be here. Nonetheless Sakura was happy to have another person on her side.

TenTen gave off her beaming smile then proceeded towards Sakura "Well Sakura you sure have provided a challenge but I'm sure Neji and I can get through it"

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at that statement but then again TenTen had that effect on people "Boredom does things to a person it even gets them into so much trouble that they might be facing death, in any case I'm glad to have provided you with amusement"

Neji placed his hand on his forehead then took in a deep breath "I'm glad you two are getting along because I have to get some more files from home so I have to leave you two alone for a bit"

TenTen looked at Neji with disbelief "I wouldn't have agreed to help unless I believed she was innocent"

Neji placed the folders in his hands on the metal slab which was Sakura's bed then dashed out the door; TenTen shrugged her shoulders then went through the stacks of papers Neji had left behind. Sakura helped TenTen go over the paper work.

…To be continued…


	7. Mad dash out of Konoha

It was if they had a falling out but Sakura knew better the tension between Neji and TenTen was because they had been getting no where with the case. They weren't able to obtain Sakura's medical files because they had been labelled for the eyes of the Hokage only which meant this struggle would last awhile. Knowing the Hokage was stopping justice from being served made Sakura's inch long hair sweat even more. As dangerous as this situation is Sakura was incredibly excited.

Sakura peered upwards at the ceiling to see the splattering of rain drops smash against the sky light window. Seeing this made everything seem so trivial which made Sakura ignore everything around her including the scene behind her which consisted of TenTen trying to attack Neji with a hair pin because he wasn't paying attention to her attempts at flirting. After a few minutes Sakura snapped out of her reverie and turned around to see Neji using one of the clipboard's as a shield while he tried to wrestle the makeshift weapon out of TenTen's hand.

Sakura cocked her left eye brow then proceeded to break up the fight "Can't you two go a minute with out fighting?" They looked at Sakura like she was a mad woman then stared at each other and shrugged "But fighting makes this whole endeavour much more fun" TenTen's wry smile said it all. Neji moved his head to the side then started to smile "Yes it does help keep the tension"

They both started to laugh as if they we're embellishing in their own private little joke but Sakura just went back to her bed to stare up at the ceiling. It was mind numbing just waiting for her punishment yet having the slightest bit of hope that it will all go away because Neji and TenTen could uncover some miraculous evidence that exonerates her from the accidental death of Naruto made Sakura happy if even for a moment. Sakura felt guilt at that moment for not even thinking of Naruto through out all this, Naruto may have been sick but if he had gotten help he probably would have been normal again. It was very unfortunate what happened to him but in the end it's what happened so she just had to deal with it.

"This Naruto fiasco is totally messed up and something is not right about it" TenTen's voice cut the silence like a knife. Sakura immediately snapped out of her train of thought and turned to look at them "Naruto's body did give out surprisingly easy but I'm guessing that's not what you meant" Neji's face was suddenly stricken with a pained look "The Hokage has been acting suspicious since a couple of months before Naruto was sent on that mission with us, the mission which made him crazy was also the first real sign the Hokage had changed" Sakura jumped down from her spot on the bed "You never mentioned this before" TenTen got up from her spot on the ground then walked over to Sakura "Well Neji and I wanted to mull it over in case we we're just being paranoid but we both can't ignore the crazy orders she gave Which at the time we thought we're just for the good of the village" Sakura strangely felt reassured at what TenTen said "You're right sometimes we are given orders which are unusual but helpful, so I guess I can't blame you for not wanting to mention this purely speculative evidence" Sakura rubbed her face while thinking this trial had all the intrigue of a political thriller. TenTen just clasped her hands together then started talking to Neji about how they we're going to present the case at trial. Sakura just went on thinking about poor dead Naruto. How would she ever make up for his death? It was then that Sakura looked up at the roof and saw the most peculiar thing, a flash of orange passed by the window again and again. It finally stopped but the vision was blurry for Sakura. Once the vision cleared Sakura could clearly make out Naruto's body standing on the sky light, he waved his hand upwards as if beckoning her to go with him "What the hell" Neji and TenTen stopped what they were doing to look up just as Sakura was "What is it Sakura are the birds scratching at the glass again?" TenTen's comment made Sakura look at her with a quizzical façade "I swear I saw Naruto up their" The two Brunette's looked at each other with concern then went back to their work.

…Switch…

The sadistic bounty hunter played mind games with Sasuke as he laid on the ground like a helpless animal waiting for the slaughter. Sasuke looked into her eyes but all he saw was the shadow of a person not a human being, it made him think of what he did and how people saw him. The bounty hunter dangled a pocket knife above Sasuke threatening to stab him at any moment, Sasuke did the only thing he could in that situation he just laid still on the floor waiting for the right moment to strike. It took all of his patience to stay there on the floor waiting for the perfect time to strike but if he was to survive he had to wait.

"You're a very unlucky man" The tingling in her voice gave away how sadistic she really was. Sasuke had played this sort of torture game before so he knew exactly how to respond "Why because I'm your prisoner?" A smirk spread across his pained face. The bounty hunter stopped sharpening her knife to reply to his come back "No because the person I'm handing you to has a very personal grudge against you and he's going to pay three times the bounty those idiotic ninja in they're cutesy villages would"

Just to drive her point along home she threw a knife just a few millimetres away from Sasuke's head. The bounty hunter had definitely established that she meant business. It was definitely a warning but trying to break through her poker face was a challenge Sasuke was going to demolish. A knock was heard at the door at which point the bounty hunter shoved him back into the closet.

…Switch…

It was almost midnight meaning Neji had long since gone home and Sakura was looking through the papers while TenTen went out to get some more files from the archives. Sakura knew that TenTen meant what she said but probably wouldn't realize how tired she was until she started walking back to the prison so she probably wasn't coming back tonight. All of it just seemed to blur together in Sakura's mind. Sakura saw a few things from cases like this that might help the slightest bit in her case; she even wrote a few things down so she would remember to discuss them with Neji tomorrow. If Sakura had the mental energy tomorrow she would convince TenTen to guilt trip Neji into bringing something edible. The small morsels of prison food Sakura had been given was hard to choke down which made Sakura all the more weaker, she thought it was cruel seeing as she would most likely be sentenced to death even if they did find some evidence that exonerated her.

Steps echoed through the hallways but Sakura thought it was just another guard change over since TenTen would probably be stuck at the village archives all night that's if she hadn't gone home to bed. A female scream suddenly pierced the halls of the prison ward, Sakura rushed to the door to look out the small window. Sakura could vaguely make out TenTen's red ballet flat, Sakura took a few steps back from the door and started pacing around the room. Things had truly gotten out of control.

What could possibly be jeopardised by letting Sakura win this trial which would determine her future? If TenTen was captured it was plausible that Neji would some how be incapacitated too. A loud bang was heard from the hall way and the sound of fast paced footsteps echoed through the entire complex, Sakura got extremely scared as the alarms sounded. Sakura then decided to barricade the door with her metal bed. Sakura dragged the slab across the room then turned it on its side so it was caught in the door handle. Sakura crouched down on the floor right next to the door so she could see who ever was raiding the place from the window on the door. Sakura was unable to look at any faces but she could've sworn one of the men was wearing Orochimaru's symbol on his grey uniform.

Sakura stood still as someone kept poking a Katana through the door continuously until there was barely any door left. Sakura was shaking while the mysterious assailant closed in on her; there was no escape so Sakura broke off one of the legs of the metal bed. Sakura hastily rushed over to the other side of the cell then used the jagged metal bar to help pull out the bricks in the wall. One by one the bricks came out and again Sakura saw an undefined orange shape but it only took a second for it to sharpen "Come on Sakura escape while they're still breaking down the door" The sound of Naruto's voice made Sakura realize she had definitely lost it but at least this illusion was saving her life. So Sakura crawled through the passageway that she made, taking one step at a time as she pulled out the bricks. Sakura came out on the other side and saw the mental illusion of Naruto running across an unmarred path which she was sure lead out of the village and into the forest of death. Sakura ran along the path not realizing until she had travelled on it for a while that it was littered with thorny bushes which scratched her at every angle.

…Switch…

Sasuke had been locked in a closet while the female bounty hunter discussed semantics with his buyer, Sasuke tried to listen to what they said but he had been pumped up with enough drugs to take down an elephant. Sasuke had been seeing everything in green for what seemed like days but was probably only hours. The dripping water from the tap in the other room rung through Sasuke's ears like a school bell on repeat, it only seemed to get louder even though Sasuke knew its sound was a constant. The dizzying effect of what ever drugs the female bounty hunter had injected into his arm.

A few minutes later the bounty hunter came into the room then slugged Sasuke right in the jaw which made Sasuke even dizzier but just before he passed out Sasuke saw the face of one he would never forget "Miss me Sasuke?" The teasing voice echoed through Sasuke's head as his body drifted into a cold dreamless sleep. Sasuke would never forget the cold gleam of those calculating eyes for the rest of his short life.

…Switch…

Sakura reached the outer edge of the forest of death but she had taken a few bruises on her way there, she would have to disappear into the thicket of trees fast if she wanted to avoid capture. Not only was the terrain rough but there was deadly insects and bugs every where not to mention the traps they set up for the physical part of promotion exams. The Naruto illusion chose this time to reappear at which point he waved at Sakura teasingly and ran off, Sakura followed him knowing her mind was mapping out a way to disappear in this forest.

As Sakura ran across the ever expanding forest path following the Naruto illusion she tripped over an upturned thick tree trunk and fell down a small slope then landed into a small body of water. Sakura's body was covered in mud from head to toe but still she kept on walking trying to find some sign that Kabuto was still there. There were lots of markers across the forest but all the ones Sakura spotted so far we're left by ninja's who got separated from their groups in the promotion exams. The Naruto illusion didn't appear which had Sakura worried. Sakura's mind had made him up to guide her out of this sticky situation and Sakura knew him not being there was her minds way of saying "You're screwed" Sakura just sighed and started wandering west.

Everything just blurred together as Sakura was getting tired; Sakura dragged her body along the forest path. Eventually her body gave out on her when she collapsed on the ground; her body slowly fell to the ground then started to tumble until she landed in the main stream which surrounded the whole forest. The sudden rush of cold water didn't wake her up instead she just let her body succumb to being drowned in the large pool of water. Yet foot steps could be heard near by as unknown figure picked up her body then kept on walking along the path. Sakura could tell by the shaping of the shoulder that the body was definitely male, she was too tired to fight back or even to decide if the mysterious man was helping or not. The sound of twigs being crushed underfoot was the only thing that Sakura could hear clearly enough "I should have dragged you out of the lab when I had the chance instead of leaving you there to reap the punishment those people had planned out for you" Kabuto's calm voice soothed Sakura as she mustered up all the strength she had to speak "Where are we going?" Kabuto stayed quiet for a minute as two tracker hawks flew above them, as soon as they passed Kabuto knew it was safe to speak again "Gen-Chu Province. It's a village hidden between a mountain range blanketed by snow and a thick labyrinth like forest" As the tracker hawks did another fly by of the forest Kabuto thought it best to speed up instead of hide from the birds sight but was unsure as to if that was the best course of action. The sound of ninjas shouting orders in the distance confirmed that his first idea was the correct one.

…To be continued...

Author's comment:

Okay as I promised I have re-written the ending and added some stuff to the overall story which leaves it to be continued for sure. At the time when I was writing this chapter originally I felt exhausted and instead of just taking a break from writing altogether which I ended up doing any way I just ended the story. I had planned to write at least three more chapters but as I said I was just exhausted from constantly writing FanFiction for a fandom which I had lost interest in because of the disappointment of Shippuden, I haven't actually read or watched Shippuden but I've heard bits and pieces about the plot and I got to say I am disappointed. Any way I just hope my fans like the rewrite and it may seem shorter but I just combined the text paragraphs together so they wouldn't seem so small and out of place with the other paragraphs.


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